Chapter175: Captive

|| Lilac’s POV || The last of the guests had finally dispersed, their whispers lingering in the air like smoke. Some had looked at me with pity, others with something uncomfortably close to amusement. Poor Lilac, twice rejected, twice humiliated. There was no running from Coco stealing my mate, no matter how many lives I live. Classic! The moon hung heavy overhead, its silver light washing over the ruined decorations, the overturned chairs, the remnants of what should have been my mating ceremony. I exhaled, rubbing my arms against the sudden chill. A warm presence materialized at my side. "Ready?" Alaric's voice was low, intimate, as if we weren't standing in the wreckage of my failed engagement. I turned to glare at him. "For what?" "To be my Luna, of course." He pulled me into a side hug, his arm a solid weight around my shoulders. I wriggled free, heat crawling up my neck. "This is not the time, Alaric.” "On the contrary," he murmured, "the timing is perfect." “Are you sure you wan